The first time we ever went to Copenhagen’s Red Plaza, a disgruntled guy told us some shit in Danish, which we ignored considering none of us spoke the language. He sought out our Danish-speaking guide, flashed some sketchy blade, and told him that he was selling hash and if we keep skating there, he’s going to stab all of us (*queue up the Chris Rock “97 people deserved it” joke*). We went to the next spot.

“Red Code” is a [mostly] one-spot video in the recent tradition of the all Oslo City Hall video, or the London Gillette Square one from the summer. Unlike those two cities, “Red Code” hails from a place doused with some of the best spots on earth. So why skate a big empty space, with a short bank, wood scraps, and a D.I.Y. ledge? (The park is even across the street from an admittedly shitty but charming skatepark.)

Big, empty and centrally-located spaces with nice ground are malleable. It’s tempting to call the Red Plaza “Copenhagen’s T.F.,” but it’s actually more like an O.G. Astor Place closed off to vehicular traffic. It sits in the middle of city life. People bike, walk, skate and wheelchair through at all hours. You skate what winds up there until it falls apart beyond recognition. You interact, you create, you reshape.

For all its merits as a skateboard mecca, the one nitpicky criticism you can pass Copenhagen’s way is that a lot of its best spots occupy a grey zone between skate spot and skatepark (obviously because these multi-use spaces are designed with skater input.) I’ve watched Johnny Wilson and all those guys skate past some of the most amazing spots simply because they didn’t look interesting enough. And it’s like, yeah, fair — you want your video to look different.

“Red Code” is a tribute to the infinite, simple and universal joy of nice ground :)

(From what I understand, the drug dealers and skateboarders have made their peace. Shout out to the magic of unregulated public space! ♥)

Edited by Anton Juul. Filmed by Anton Juul, Søren Nordal Enevoldsen, Anders Jørgensen. Features every single blonde-haired skateboarder in the world besides Pryce Holmes.